Tailpiece for stringed musical instruments



A. D. GROVER TAILPIECE FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Oct. 25. 1924 filbe rt 17. G'rover,

Patented Dec. 14, 1926,

ALBERT D GROVER, OF LONG ISLAND CITY, NEVI YORK.

TAILPIECE FOE STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Application filed October 25, 1924.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in tail pieces for stringed musical instruments.

The rincipal object of my invention is to provide one piece tail piece which may be used with equal facility on substantially any banjo instrument, i. e. for string tenorbanjo, ulzelele banjo, live string standard banjo, six'string guitc r banjo and the eight string mend olin banj 0.

Strings or the above instruments are usuallypro iced at their attaching ends with either loops or balls, and it is a further object or the present invention to provide the tail piece with a plurality o't prongs so spa ed from each other as to enable either type of" string end to be attached thereto.

A further object of my invention is to provide a covering tor the rough ends of the strings so as to prevent the latter ironi catching and tearing the clothing of a player.

The design of the present tail piece is such that the device may be manutactured very cheaply and at the same time is capable of performing substantially all of the functions of the more costly tailpieces now on the market.

The invention is illustratively exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my im proved tai piece and the ass Ttffl parts of a top hoop of an instrument; Figure 2 is an elevational view of the tail piece loolring towards the end of the instrument; Fig ure 3 is a transverse sectional View taken on the lines 3-3 of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a plan view of the tail piece; Figure 5 is a sectional View taken on the lines of Figure 4:; and Figure 6 is a sectional view similar to Figure 5 showing a slightly modified construction for attaching the tail piece to the top hoop,

Referring to the drawings, 10 denotes the top hoop of a banjo instrument, 11 the rim and 12 the head which is stretched over the usual rings 13 and 14: and held under tension by adjustment of the top hoop 10.

My improved tail piece 15 consists of one piece othnaterial which is bent at rlght l portion 1?. The sides of the portion 17 are cut to form inrerted L-shaped vertical. bracket flanges 18 which are bent at right angles to the plane of the upright portion so to bring the base arms of the L beneath the cover portion 16, as clearly illustrated Serial No, 745,356.

Figure 1. The tree ends 01 the base arms t provided with depending proections or teeth 17 which are adapted to over the upper end of the top hoop The upright portion 17 adjacent its upper end is provided with a. string slot or openin 19, which is formed by cutting an inverted U-shaped slit in the metal and then bending the material inwardly to provide a lip over which the strings pass from under the cover piece 16. The slot 19 is disposed so that the surface of the turned in portion. of mat al ling the lip is hoop 10, as clearly illustrated in Figure 3. Y will be clear that the bend in the lip 20 is rounded edge upon which the strings rest without fear o1 injury being done to them.

Spaced below the slot 19, in the upright portion 17, is a second aperture 21, the upper side of which is provided with a plurality of string receiving members, preferably in the torm of depending prongs 22, which are curved outwardly and downwardly and which are preferably tapered to a point at their free ends in order to aid in the operation of inserting the strings. Since the portion 17 of the tail piece is spaced slightly 8 from the top hoop 10 by the position 0%? the L-flanges, it will be clear that the ends of the strings will have ample space in which to be concealed between the prongs 22 and adjacent portion of the top hoop 10. The ordinary exposed rough loose ends of strings I in this type of musical, instrument have always been a source of trouble in the way of causing injury to such parts of the garments with which they are brought into contact. The generous curved portion of the prongs 22 almost entirely covers the opening 21 so that once the ends of the strings are attached over the prongs there is small chance of having any stray parts which will not rgmain in the pocket beneath the portion 1.

The position of the tail piece with respect to the banjo is further determined by means of the usual bracket 23 comprising a member projecting from the periphery of the rim 11 and having a transverse bore, arranged parallel to the axis of the head and rim, and adapted to receive a screw M the head of which bears against a lateral integral projection 25 bent outwardly from the lower end of the portion 17, the stem of ls-rcl with the suriace oi the head 12 and top H (ill the screw being projected through an elongated slot 26 in the projection 25. The lower free end of the screw 24 is threaded to receive a nut 27 adjustable against the bracket 23 to tighten the position of the tail piece.

According to the modified construction shown in Figure 6, the lip is a trifle longer than the lip 20 of the other design, and the end thereof is bent downwardly at right angles so as to be capable of engaging the groove 10 in upper side of the top hoop 10. This design does not require the flanges 18 to be provided with the teeth 17 since the turned end of the lip 20 engaged in the groove 10 insures the tail piece against any twisting action. The turned down end of the lip 20 is of necessity slightly curved to conform to the curve of the groove in the top hoop 10.

The essential features of my invention are, first, the one piece construction of a tail piece having integral string cover and receiving members; second, the spaced relation of the prongs to receive substantially any string combination used in connection with banjo constructions; third, the protection afforded the garments of the player by the design of the prongs and their position relative to the adjacent opening in the tail piece; and fourth, the upper slotthrough which the strings pass to the head of the instrument and the provision of the lip 20 to support the strings in any combination without injury to the same from sharp edges, etc.

.Vhat I claim is:

l. A. tail piece for stringed musical instruments, comprising an integral cover plate and rim plate, the latter being provi dyed with spaced prongs integral therewith and overlying an opening in the rim plate,

asi es said rim plate being further provided with a string slot having one edge turned inwardly to form a lip over which the strings are disposed in their passage from the prongs to the head of the instrument.

2. A tail piece for stringed musical instruments, comprising an integral angular member forming the cover plate and rim plate, the rim plate being provided with integral wing bracket portions comprising substantially inverted L-shaped members disposed at an angle to the rim plate, one arm of each L-shaped member being provided with a projection to engage over the rim of the instrument.

3. A tail piece for stringed musical instruments, comprising an integral angular member, one portion thereof being provided with bracket flanges to engage a portion of the instrument and to support the other portion of the member, the portion having the brackets being further provided with an outwardly projecting slotted flange bent from a portion oi the lower end of the memher, the material of the first named portion being slotted to form separate openings, the lower edge of one opening being bent inwardly to form a lip, and the other opening having its upper edge bent to form spaced, inwardly curved tapered prongs disposed outwardly in a curve to receive the string ends of the instrument.

4. A tail piece for stringed musical instruments comprising an integral cover plate and rim plate, the latter being provided with a string slot having an edge bent inwardly to engage over a portion 01 the instrument and then at an angle to seat into the said portion.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature.

ALBERT D. GROVER. 

